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The day after President Joe Biden's fiery remarks, which some said were tantamount to calling for regime change in Russia, several U.S. officials took to the Sunday morning news shows to walk back those controversial remarks. Biden had said Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" during a fiery speech from Poland. But Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Sunday that the U.S. was not pursuing "a strategy of regime change" in Moscow.
The fallout from the comments, which prompted a swift response from the Kremlin, overshadowed Biden's efforts to frame Russia's war in Ukraine as the battle of a generation and to rally the world's support behind the embattled democracy.
While NATO countries have backed Kyiv and sought to punish Moscow with sanctions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again urged NATO to send more planes, tanks and weapons to support his country's dogged resistance.
Having struggled to make progress in the first month of the war, Moscow's forces appeared to be focusing on an effort to secure control of eastern Ukraine while battling Ukrainian counterattacks.
Ukraine prepared to discuss neutrality with Russia to end war
City of Kyiv announces remote education will resume
The official website of Kyiv City Administration announced Sunday that remote learning would resume on Monday.
"Starting on Monday, March 28, remote education will resume," the post read. "Kyiv's primary schools, professional and technical educational institutions, as well as vocational and post-secondary institutions will resume studies online. The goal of remote study during wartime is not just to impart knowledge to students but also to provide a form of psychological support and an opportunity to converse. So, there won't be any bad grades or homework."
Turkish president stresses need for cease-fire in Ukraine in call with Putin
ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed the need for a cease-fire in Ukraine in a telephone call Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan’s office said.
Erdogan also called for an improvement to the humanitarian situation in the region, according to the statement.
The two leaders agreed the next meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials should be held in Istanbul, the statement added, without giving a time frame.
Meanwhile, a member of the Ukrainian delegation that's in talks with Russia said Sunday that the two sides have decided to meet in person beginning on Monday. However, Russia’s chief negotiator said the in-person talks would begin on Tuesday. Neither said where the talks would be held.
Russia's aggression has failed to destabilize Ukraine, Zelenskyy says
Russia's armed aggression remains unsuccessful because it has failed to destabilize Ukraine's leadership, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.
The Ukrainian president's comments were posted to his official government website, and appeared to be translated from Zelenskyy's interviews for Russian media. Zelenskyy alleged that Russia had made attempts to initiate early elections in areas where Russia had influence in order to "provoke political chaos in Ukraine."
"This destabilization was necessary in order to split the majority with strong regional governance," Zelenskyy said. "Chaos in the economy and instability of the political spirit in Ukraine would lead to escalation on the part of the Russian Federation."
Russian forces were not welcomed as its leaders had predicted, Zelenskyy said, and the "parallel solution" became an attempt to "neutralize" leadership. But Zelenskyy insisted that Russia had falsely predicted his government had no support within society.
Member of Ukraine delegation says in-person talks with Russia to resume Monday
LVIV, Ukraine — A member of the Ukrainian delegation in talks with Russia on ending the month-long war says the two sides have decided to meet in person in Turkey beginning on Monday.
Davyd Arakhamia, the leader in parliament of the faction of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, said on Facebook that the in-person talks were agreed upon in a video consultation. He did not give further details.
However, Russia's chief negotiator said the in-person talks would begin on Tuesday, rather than Monday.
The two sides have met previously with no deal reached.
Last passenger train links from Russia into European Union suspended
HELSINKI — One of the last remaining passenger train links from Russia into the European Union has been suspended following the departure of the last two Allegro high-speed trains from St. Petersburg to Helsinki.
Finland’s state-owned railway company VR said Friday it would suspend services between the Finnish capital and Russia’s second-largest city on Sunday, closing one of the last public transport routes for Russians who want to reach the EU.
Citing the sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the Finnish railway company said it was no longer appropriate to operate the route. It added that Finnish citizens and “people who wanted to depart from Russia have had adequate time to leave.”
Only a morning departure from Helsinki to St. Petersburg ran on Sunday, while the afternoon train was cancelled. Two departures from St. Petersburg left as scheduled.
Russians wishing to travel to Finland can do so through crossing points on the 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) land border with Russia that remain open for private cars. Bus services to Finland continue to operate both from St. Petersburg and Moscow.
New Ukraine law limits troop movement reports
LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law restricting the reporting on troop and military equipment movement unless such information has been announced or approved by the military general staff.
The state news agency Ukrinform reported Sunday that the law calls for potential prison terms of three to eight years for violations.
The law bans “unauthorized dissemination of information about the direction, movement of international military assistance to Ukraine, the movement, movement or deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations of Ukraine, committed in a state of martial law or a state of emergency,” Ukrinform said.
Offering Ukraine further military equipment an 'evolving conversation': U.S. ambassador to NATO
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said Sunday that the alliance was engaged in "evolving" talks with Ukraine about offering additional military equipment following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's latest plea for more planes, tanks and weapons to support his country's resistance.
"We've spoken with President Zelenskyy many times in recent weeks, we've heard their requests for assistance," Smith said on CNN’s “State of the Union." "In many cases, we've delivered those anti-aircraft anti-armor capabilities, we are assessing their air defense needs."
On the proposal from Poland that would have made its old Russian-made MiG fighters available to a U.S. base in Germany for potential handover to Ukraine, she said the answer was still no. The Biden administration rejected the idea earlier this month, saying it would be a “high risk” step that could ratchet up tensions with Moscow.
"If any NATO ally wanted to provide those types of pieces of equipment, the fighter jets the MiGs, that is a sovereign decision. They can take that sovereign decision. But right now the United States is very much focused on their air defense needs," the diplomat said.
She also attempted to walk back Biden's fiery remarks on Putin, which some said were tantamount to calling for regime change in Russia.
“The U.S. does not have a policy of regime change in Russia, full stop," Smith said, calling Biden's remarks “a principled human reaction” to the stories he heard from Ukrainian refugees during his trip to Europe.